Indonesia Warns YouTube for Not Complying with New Social Media Rules

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has officially warned the world’s largest video platform, YouTube, about new social media regulations that have been in effect since late March. It urged social media platforms to "immediately demonstrate compliance" with the rule, despite the YouTube parent company's objection.

Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, stated that YouTube has not indicated it will comply with Indonesia’s new rules on minimum age restrictions for social media use. This prompted the government to issue a “red note” warning.

"Based on the inspection results conducted by the Director General of Digital Space Supervision on 7 April, YouTube has not fulfilled its compliance obligations and has not stated, or has not yet stated, any intention to comply with applicable laws in the near future, so we had no other choice," she said in a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday, 9 April 2026.

"The sanction we are imposing today, as stated in the Director General’s letter today, is a formal warning letter to Google," she said.

Minister Meutya, explained that the government issued the warning letter to encourage YouTube to comply with Indonesian regulations. She also urged social media platforms to report their risk assessments no later than this June.

"We also urge platforms to immediately demonstrate compliance and submit implementation action plans, as previously communicated to other platforms," Meutya said.

"Additionally, platforms are required to report the results of independent risk profile assessments for all digital platforms within three months," she added.

The age restriction policy is outlined in Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Operations for Child Protection, commonly referred to as PP TUNAS. The regulation, in effect since March 28th, is notable for setting the minimum age to access social media at 16 years old, higher than typically enforced by most social media platforms.

Previously, Google claimed in a blog post on March 27 that removing accounts belonging to users under 16 could risk creating a knowledge gap. According to Google, students in remote villages might have less equal access to learning opportunities than those in major cities.